I don't know if this will work or not, but interesting tweet that was retweeted by Darnell Mayberry from Carson Cunningham KOCO. (never tried to link to a tweet before)

https://twitter.com/DarnellMayberry/status/736977438903672833

Cause Kyrie is known for his lock down defense....somebody throw the hammer at this guy.

In the end, KD and Russ didn't trust their teammates down the stretch and they abandoned what got them there. Very disappointing to see their bad habits take over down the stretch. It didn't help that Klay had maybe the greatest shooting performance in NBA history. Let's see if the Thunder can bring the fight in game 7... A lot of teams would quit, but I don't think OKC will.Agree completely with every single word.

In the end, KD and Russ didn't trust their teammates down the stretch and they abandoned what got them there. Very disappointing to see their bad habits take over down the stretch. It didn't help that Klay had maybe the greatest shooting performance in NBA history. Let's see if the Thunder can bring the fight in game 7... A lot of teams would quit, but I don't think OKC will.

Dan, your observation of the Thunder is right on target.

Klay played a flawless game especially down the stretch when it counted. Young man was clicking on all cylinders. Take nothing away from GSW.

Thunder continues to revert back to 'hero' ball. It's evident in how they tell their teammates to clear the paint area to allow them space to do their thing...

We have tonight to figure things out. Donovan possesses the coaching skill set to accomplish a victory tonight; Durant & Westbrook will just have to put more trust into their teammates.

KD and Westbrook have to see the result of trusting their teammates and Donovan. Two blowouts of Golden State. Not trusting teammates and hero ball, two close losses.

You know what, regardless of what happens tonight, I'm proud of this team and content enough to have seen them play their best when it really really mattered, even if they don't play it when it matters most.

If we lose, then what really will have caught up to us is falling into bad habits when the pressure was on, both from the other team and from the moment.

I hope, regardless of how this season ends, that KD and Russ have learned the value of team ball, because it's more than apparent that we have all the tools we need to win a championship. I hope next season the entire team learns the value of establishing good habits all season long, because when times get rough in the post season, you need to be able to lean on those habits. That's what Golden State has done, and that's why they're in a great position in this series.

OKC has the higher ceiling, but it doesn't make them the better team. The better team is the one who uses their full potential to achieve the best possible outcome they can. OKC needs to do that better for the full 82 games next season, and they'll be in a much better position moving forward.

Does anybody know why the Peake is not open for away playoff games? Seems like it would encourage team spirit, a nominal entrance fee for a designated charity, concessions would be a money maker and seems so obvious a thing to do. I know Oakland opens up their gym as well as some other NBA teams.

The Cavs are hoping the Thunder win tonight because then the Cavs would have a cakewlk to the NBA title. If the Cavs play the Warriors, they'll win in five.

The Cavs are hoping the Thunder win tonight because then the Cavs would have a cakewlk to the NBA title. If the Cavs play the Warriors, they'll win in five.

Pete, can we go ahead and get that ban? This person is clearly a Cavs fan who found this site to troll not realizing that we really don't do that here.

ESPN Classic is bringing back their series "Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame" this fall. First episode is "The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame The Oklahoma City Thunder For Never Winning the NBA Title".

Besides David Stern and Adam Silver don't want the Thunder in the Finals and this is the year Cleveland finally wins a title. Charles Barkley really hates the Thunder and will be slamming them on the postgame show instead of praising the Warriors for winning the Western Conference. Barkley already said Cavs win the title this year.

This OKC team will never win an NBA championship for two reasons. Durant and Westbrook.

Pete, can we go ahead and get that ban? This person is clearly a Cavs fan who found this site to troll not realizing that we really don't do that here.

Why is everyone so quick to want to ban anyone who says anything negative about anything Oklahoma? Why are we so sensitive? Maybe if we WON it would stop others from making negative remarks. Opinions are just that opinions, quit getting butt hurt Everytime a poster rails against Oklahoma

After watching the series, I found Durant would be better without Westbrook. The Thunder should let go of Westbrook and try to keep Durant. Westbrook is a tough work hard player, but he makes too many bad decisions with the ball. Durant needs a Scottie Pippen. Not that Durant is MJ, but I hope you know what I mean.

Even though the Thunder lost, I believe Billy Donovan earned his chops as an NBA coach. He did not lose these games.

Read his posts. He's not saying anything negative about Oklahoma; he's just literally trolling.

Besides the Lakers or Rockets stand a better shot at reaching the WCF next season with Westbrook on the Lakers and Durant playing with LeBron or Curry because that's the only way he'll win a title. Plus Durant and Westbrook just surpassed Charles Barkley and Allen Iverson as the two best players never to win a title.

That was painful. I'm sure there are a lot of recruitors with plane tickets to okc tomorrow morning. Durant is going to get a lot of nice dinners and stuff these coming weeks.

.

Thunder we love you... ....Thank You!

Hold your heads up high:

We have fought the good fight, we gave it our best shot, continue to keep the faith.

We will return...

Thank you, Oklahoma City Thunder!

Durant will go to Houston, Miami, Boston, Golden State, or Cleveland.

Durant will go to Houston, Miami, Boston, Golden State, or Cleveland.

I'm betting he signs a 1 year deal with the Thunder and reevaluates next year when Westbrook is a free agent.

This OKC team will never win an NBA championship for two reasons. Durant and Westbrook.

I'm not sure how this playoffs convinced you of this. This was the first healthy playoffs for the Thunder team since they made the Finals and they almost knocked off on maybe the greatest team of all time. And that's after beating the winningest Spurs team of all time. If you're bashing them now then it tells a lot more about you then anyone on the Thunder.

Read his posts. He's not saying anything negative about Oklahoma; he's just literally trolling.

And ignorant. Everyone put him on block and I'm sure Pete will ban him once he has a chance. Nothing to see here. Lol.

Saturday night in the 'Peake will forever haunt this franchise and specifically KD.

Game 6 was historic. It will be referred to as the Klay Thompson game that nba fans won't forget.

And ignorant. Everyone put him on block and I'm sure Pete will ban him once he has a chance. Nothing to see here. Lol.

And wrong. Much like the last guy was. Barkley doesn't hate the Warriors? That's a good one.

I wonder how those people know when the Thunder gets to the airport. I'd entertain visiting.

I think it's possible to simultaneously be proud of the team and also admit the fact that they completely blew a 3-1 series lead.

The future is much brighter than it looked just a month or so ago. The team has shown that it's capable of playing tremendous defense. The role players have improved greatly, and young guys like Adams and Roberson looks to be tremendous assets. We'll see how they continue to develop Cameron Payne, since he looks promising as well.

The Thunder are going to be really good again next year. Switching Kyle Singler for any player that isn't Kyle Singler will help them be even better.

The team played really well this series. The Warriors are probably the greatest team of all time, and definitely the best 3-point shooting team ever. It's unprecedented.

Some of the shots they take aren't even good shots, yet they go in. How can you defend that? That's why they've won 73 games. The league will have to adapt to a team that makes flukey shots at will. The Thunder are the closest ones so far who've been close to solving it.

After watching the series, I found Durant would be better without Westbrook. The Thunder should let go of Westbrook and try to keep Durant. Westbrook is a tough work hard player, but he makes too many bad decisions with the ball. Durant needs a Scottie Pippen. Not that Durant is MJ, but I hope you know what I mean.

No offense but if that's what you came away with after watching this series...you either didn't pay attention or don't know much about basketball.

. How can you defend that? That's why they've won 73 games. The league will have to adapt to a team that makes flukey shots at will. The Thunder are the closest ones so far who've been close to solving it.

That's why this loss stings because the Thunder had them beat. Up big in their last two games but couldn't close out either one.

I think it's possible to simultaneously be proud of the team and also admit the fact that they completely blew a 3-1 series lead.

The future is much brighter than it looked just a month or so ago. The team has shown that it's capable of playing tremendous defense. The role players have improved greatly, and young guys like Adams and Roberson looks to be tremendous assets. We'll see how they continue to develop Cameron Payne, since he looks promising as well.

The Thunder are going to be really good again next year. Switching Kyle Singler for any player that isn't Kyle Singler will help them be even better.

The team played really well this series. The Warriors are probably the greatest team of all time, and definitely the best 3-point shooting team ever. It's unprecedented.

Some of the shots they take aren't even good shots, yet they go in. How can you defend that? That's why they've won 73 games. The league will have to adapt to a team that makes flukey shots at will. The Thunder are the closest ones so far who've been close to solving it.


21st Century Witchcraft!

Seriously, Scott Brooks was not a fan of the 3-point shot--Durant & Westbrook never really developed 3-point shooting consistency into their arsenal; as you can see that GSW have gotten better. They (GSW) drain you mentally with their 3-point consistency.

Watchout, next season when Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, Waiters & Roberson will have their 3-point game ready; we will take down the Wicked Witch of the West (GSW)--2016-17; it will be OUR TURN...

I'm not sure how this playoffs convinced you of this. This was the first healthy playoffs for the Thunder team since they made the Finals and they almost knocked off on maybe the greatest team of all time. And that's after beating the winningest Spurs team of all time. If you're bashing them now then it tells a lot more about you then anyone on the Thunder.
Dan, I know you are a huge Thunder fan and a very knowledgeable student of the NBA. But, I did not lose these games by blowing big leads. It was almost totally the "hero" ball attempted by 2 players. Yes, when they are good they are as good as any, but, time and time again they fall back into this mode and it is getting the Thunder beat when they do.

Forgive me for this mini book, but I have been wanting to express this opinion for some time. Most of us want to fault the Big 2 or 3 depending if Ibaka shows up which is not a sure thing anymore, for falling short this and past years, but the reality is that the Thunder ARE NOT built to win a championship as currently constructed. What truly plagues the Thunder is their inability to draw quality free agents and to keep its developing stars. If this trend continues this franchise (teams) will be good, never great. The reasons for this failure are IMO fairly obvious, but for fear of being castigated, I will pass on commenting any further on that aspect. Oh, the franchise will be moderately sucessful through trades and drafts, but, may fall short on Championships. A winning BB team, IMO has to have a strong bench (2d unit) . OKC does not have a strong bench, hence Donovan going with essentially 7 players. OKC has on its roster players who contribute little to winning BB games. Singler, Mohammad, Heists, Collison, Mc Gary, Foye and a couple who are marginal Waiters, Morrow. That's 7-8 players out of 15.

Conversely look at GSW bench players that contributed big to last years and this years wins, Barbosa, Barnes, Igudola, Livingston, Speights, Varejao. Ok look at Cleveland. Dellavedova, Frye, Jefferson, Jones, Kaun Shumpert, Williams, Jones et al

If KD leaves, I believe it will be almost entirely because he has seen the organizations inablity to attract Quality Free Agents to OKC to help him win here. Again, we can debate the reasons for this inability but I do not think we can dispute the validity of that comment.

Thunder will need to pick up one more quality piece.

Billy Donovan have the Thunder on the right track. Wait til next season; this too will pass...

Billy Donovan have the Thunder on the right track. Wait til next season; this too will pass...

Laramie, I actually agree with you about Billy, but I would venture to say he will push to have more rounds in the chamber from which to draw.

I don't think the team needs a new piece. We just need to get better. Specifically three point shooting - that faucet of OKC's game is lackluster and for some reason Morrow never gets a chance - even when Waiters is cold.


GSW is a new era of NBA - it goes against everything that is team basketball. Literally the only reason they were in this series is because Klay and Steph are incredible lights-out shooters from 3. And it isn't like there was poor defense played on them, they were hitting strafing threes with hands in their faces. You can't do anything against them when they have "one of those nights". And for some reason, those two have those nights way more often than anyone in NBA history.

You remove just a handful of Klay's threes in Game 6 and take away the ISO pull-up threes at the end of the shotclock from Klay and Steph in Game 7 - then OKC is easily up 20+ points.

We have to live with them making those insane shots because it is who they are and it is how GSW have beaten countless records in the NBA in two seasons.


OKC had freaking 7 turnovers in the ENTIRE game 7. That is outstanding care. The difference in these last 3 games was simply the 'Splash Bros' doing exactly what they have done all season. Unguardable has a new definition when it comes to those guys. Props to them for successfully exploiting everything that is team basketball.

So where does the Thunder go from here? Obviously they will do everything they can to resign Durant but will they match ANY offer that Waiters gets? Is there any market for Ibaka on an expiring contract? He just seems to disappear at times.

KD was really upset with Roberson passing up an open 3 last night late in the game.

KD was really upset with Roberson passing up an open 3 last night late in the game.

I was too when he passed that out. He had 30 feet around him. If he hits that, the game is totally different. Instead we end up empty and then Ibaka fouls Curry on the 3 point attempt and that's all she wrote.

Everyone has confidence in Roberson except himself. He is a A+ defender with zero offensive confidence. That will (and likely already is) a thing the staff is working to fix.

Man, this hurts. I posted this on twitter earlier, but this hurts me just as bad as OSU losing to Iowa State in 2011. Never thought I'd feel that heartbreak again. Not sure I'll get over it anytime soon.

I was too when he passed that out. He had 30 feet around him. If he hits that, the game is totally different. Instead we end up empty and then Ibaka fouls Curry on the 3 point attempt and that's all she wrote.

Everyone has confidence in Roberson except himself. He is a A+ defender with zero offensive confidence. That will (and likely already is) a thing the staff is working to fix.

He wasn't particularly hot that night. 2/11 FGA, 4 of which were from 3. He was even missing lay ups.

On paper though, a wide open Roberson 3 is probably better than a contested Dion (long) 2.

To be fair Dion did score on that possession where Roberson passed up that 3.

Roberson is a guard. Passing up a wide open (by 20ft+) look to someone who is covered is horrible basketball. I forgot Dion somehow made a miracle fadeaway on that possession. I guess that is when it went downhill fast with the Ibaka foul.

If Roberson had confidence in making the big shot, he would have a much better chance at making the big shot. You think Steph and Klay think they're going to miss those miracle chucks? No, they not only think they can make them, they KNOW they can make them. You have to take shots to make shots. Roberson has the chance to be a major piece to OKC, but he needs to develop that confidence.

Looking like the Thunder will get hammered in the first round next year as Portland and a rebuilding Minnesota stand a better chance of winning the Northwest Division title. The human abortion Skip Bayless is loving that the Thunder lost and he's a bandwagon Cavaliers fan as he's picking Cleveland to win easily plus this is the year LeBron brings a championship to Cleveland as the 1986 Cleveland Browns will be inn attendance the night the Cavs win. Jim Thome never got to win a World Series but he and Drew Carey will be at game 4 when David Stern gives J.R. Smith the NBA title.

]Looking like the Thunder will get hammered in the first round next year as Portland and a rebuilding Minnesota stand a better chance of winning the Northwest Division title.[/B] The human abortion Skip Bayless is loving that the Thunder lost and he's a bandwagon Cavaliers fan as he's picking Cleveland to win easily plus this is the year LeBron brings a championship to Cleveland as the 1986 Cleveland Browns will be inn attendance the night the Cavs win. Jim Thome never got to win a World Series but he and Drew Carey will be at game 4 when David Stern gives J.R. Smith the NBA title.

Would you bet money on this ?

Portland and/or Minnesota....

By the way, Stern has since retired.

Lol

David Stern is LeBron's agent/BFF plus Stern promised LeBron that Adam Silver would get him a title if he went back to Cleveland. LeBron will win this for Cleveland will try to recruit Durant/Wade/Carmello/Chris Paul to Cleveland and if Draymond Green breaks his neck and never walks again, so what.

David Stern is LeBron's agent/BFF plus Stern promised LeBron that Adam Silver would get him a title if he went back to Cleveland. LeBron will win this for Cleveland will try to recruit Durant/Wade/Carmello/Chris Paul to Cleveland and if Draymond Green breaks his neck and never walks again, so what.

Your troll game is strong.

Don't like to talk about individual player performances; however, Ibaka does seem to be 'slow.' Slightly above the high challenge range (EMH = Educable Mentally Handicapped) .

Ibaka needs to hang onto passes in the paint (slight improvement this season); he also needs to know when to pass the ball (more assists). Wouldn't trade him now, he would definitely come back to haunt us.

Ibaka will be better next season.

Dan, I know you are a huge Thunder fan and a very knowledgeable student of the NBA. But, I did not lose these games by blowing big leads. It was almost totally the "hero" ball attempted by 2 players. Yes, when they are good they are as good as any, but, time and time again they fall back into this mode and it is getting the Thunder beat when they do.

And they almost beat the greatest team of all time doing it, right? So, that's enough to usually win a title. But some years you need some luck.

However, the only time I felt like Russ/KD really got away from playing smart team ball was at the end of game 6. They played incredible team ball the last two rounds, but there's just no room for error with Golden State. I really am as optimistic about their play as I've been in a couple years. So, no, they don't do it "time and time again." They were great in this playoffs in getting their teammates involved.

Don't like to talk about individual player performances; however, Ibaka does seem to be 'slow.' Slightly above the high challenge range (EMH = Educable Mentally Handicapped) .

Ibaka needs to hang onto passes in the paint (slight improvement this season); he also needs to know when to pass the ball (more assists). Wouldn't trade him now, he would definitely come back to haunt us.

Ibaka will be better next season.

I thought Ibaka was great in this series. He played to his strengths -- rim protecting and shooting. Ibaka is not good in traffic and may never be. I have no complaints about how he finished this playoffs.

One notion that's in several posts in this thread is that the Thunder players just need more confidence/practice in shooting threes. Three point shooting is an elite skill. Not all players can just develop into great shooters. Steph and Klay are historically good and no amount of hard work or practice is going to transform OKC into Golden State from behind the arc. Of course, some guys might improve incrementally with work (but some guys work their butts off and see no improvement... it's not guaranteed with work). But if OKC wants another knock down shooter then they need to find one in free agency or bring over Abrines, but I doubt either happens for next year. And I don't think OKC necessarily needs one. KD, Serge, and Morrow are good. If some other guys (e.g., Robeson, Waiters, Payne) can just show some minor incremental growth then that could help a lot. More than anything, Russ needs to cut out those one or two bad threes a game. We'll see what they do...

I would settle for them hitting the 2-point shots. The Thunder played good defense but had a bad night shooting. If they made those baskets it would have been a lot closer even with all of Golden State's 3-pointers. Golden State was weaker in this series than they have been year long, but the Thunder miss their opportunity to take them out. Oh well, better luck next year.

Golden State was weaker in this series than they have been year long, but the Thunder miss their opportunity to take them out.

Golden State was weaker because of what OKC did. OKC's defense was absolutely phenomenal in the series, and it gave Golden State absolute fits. Despite losing OKC was really impressive in this series.

Will say this about Ibaka's game. No one thought he had the skill set to shoot the 3 point shot. He just may continue to develop into a formidable 3 point shooter.

Many sportscasters complained about Ibaka defending at the 3-point line against Curry; just don't know any NBA defenders who could handle Curry in that area.

David Stern is LeBron's agent/BFF plus Stern promised LeBron that Adam Silver would get him a title if he went back to Cleveland. LeBron will win this for Cleveland will try to recruit Durant/Wade/Carmello/Chris Paul to Cleveland and if Draymond Green breaks his neck and never walks again, so what.

Not even close - Rich Paul is his agent among others - has been for years -


NBA


Rich Paul Client List

Agent: Rich Paul
Agency: Klutch Sports Group

Website: http://www.klutchgroup.com/

SORT:PLAYER (Z-A)
COLUMNS:SWIPE
Player Team Pos Height Weight Birth Date Age Contractual Status YOS
Eric Bledsoe Phoenix Suns PG 6-1 190 Dec 9, 1989 26 Phoenix Suns, Sep 24, 2014 5
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Detroit Pistons SG 6-5 205 Feb 18, 1993 23 Detroit Pistons, Jul 19, 2013 2
Norris Cole New Orleans Pelicans PG 6-2 175 Oct 13, 1988 27 New Orleans Pelicans, Sep 15, 2015 4
Montrezl Harrell Houston Rockets PF 6-8 240 Jan 26, 1994 22 Houston Rockets, Sep 18, 2015 0
LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers SF/PF 6-8 250 Dec 30, 1984 31 Cleveland Cavaliers, Jul 10, 2015 12
Cory Joseph Toronto Raptors PG/SG 6-3 193 Aug 20, 1991 24 Toronto Raptors, Jul 9, 2015 4
Kosta Koufos Sacramento Kings C 7-0 265 Feb 24, 1989 27 Sacramento Kings, Jul 13, 2015 7
Trey Lyles Utah Jazz SF 6-10 234 Nov 5, 1995 20 Utah Jazz, Jul 7, 2015 0
Ben McLemore Sacramento Kings SG 6-5 195 Feb 11, 1993 23 Sacramento Kings, Jul 13, 2013 2
Dejounte Murray Washington SG 6-5 175 Sep 19, 1996 19 Draft Eligible in 2016 0
Kevin Seraphin New York Knicks PF/C 6-10 278 Dec 7, 1989 26 New York Knicks, Aug 6, 2015 5
Ben Simmons LSU PF 6-10 225 Jul 20, 1996 19 Draft Eligible in 2016 0
Tristan Thompson Cleveland Cavaliers PF 6-10 238 Mar 13, 1991 25 Cleveland Cavaliers, Oct 22, 2015 4
John Wall Washington Wizards PG 6-4 195 Sep 6, 1990 25 Washington Wizards, Jul 31, 2013 5

Will say this about Ibaka's game. No one thought he had the skill set to shoot the 3 point shot. He just may continue to develop into a formidable 3 point shooter.

Many sportscasters complained about Ibaka defending at the 3-point line against Curry; just don't know any NBA defenders who could handle Curry in that area.

I think with Kanter/Adams/Ibaka as primary defender on Klay/Steph 3pt FGA. The stat was a made three on 17/23. That is unbelievable. I don't think anyone on OKC could make 17/23 being wide open, except maybe Morrow.

There was something that happened and isn't getting discussed because we lost and I guess it doesn't matter anymore, but is the NBA ever going to do anything about Green? Seriously, that move he did to Adams in game 7 was incredibly dangerous. If he had managed to pull him all the way over, Adams could have ended up with a broken neck. Luckily karma got him because Adams weighs too much and ended up crashing down straight on top of Green instead.

NBA has already failed to suspend him the last 3 games. No chance he gets it for that. Tinfoil hat mode, but the NBA seemed to truly want another GSW/CLE Finals.

The NBA is by far the most well documented rigged professional league in North America. Everyone remember all the referees being caught in the mid 2000s for bribes and rigged officiating? So, your tinfoil hats may not be tight enough if you ask me.

Anyway, wanted to throw this in here. According to ESPN (who I despise for a variety of reasons- but enough about me), their formulas rank KD as the 6th most popular athlete in the world right now, behind LBJ:

http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/15685581/espn-world-fame-100

Westy is at 48. These two are the image of OKC to the world.
And another, game 7 was the MOST WATCHED NBA game and PROGRAM EVER on TNT:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2643407-thunder-vs-warriors-game-7-was-nbas-highest-rated-game-ever-on-cable-tv

If Green tears his ACL, so what. They're not going to beat Cleveland and J.R. Smith can play dirty and take that jackoff out plus he'll get to lift the trophy because LeBron turned his life around.

NBA has already failed to suspend him the last 3 games. No chance he gets it for that. Tinfoil hat mode, but the NBA seemed to truly want another GSW/CLE Finals.

Even the announcers creamed over them and downplayed the Thunder.

Curry is gonna cry like a girl when Cleveland lifts the trophy

And they almost beat the greatest team of all time doing it, right? So, that's enough to usually win a title. But some years you need some luck.

However, the only time I felt like Russ/KD really got away from playing smart team ball was at the end of game 6. They played incredible team ball the last two rounds, but there's just no room for error with Golden State. I really am as optimistic about their play as I've been in a couple years. So, no, they don't do it "time and time again." They were great in this playoffs in getting their teammates involved.

Furthermore, sometimes you HAVE to go Hero ball. Hero Ball is the only reason Golden State won Game 6. Great as Iguodala's defense was, Klay hitting everything he threw up is what won them the game. that 30-footer over Westbrook would have gotten him crucified if he missed and OKC scored. It was TERRIBLE.

But he hit it, and was praised for it. The problem for Durant and Westbrook is that they couldn't close a game when they needed to. Not surprising considering KD's jump shot has been broken most of the post season. He at no point took over during this series. Every other star did.

You pay superstars and let them eat up a large percentage of your salary cap because they are supposed to do things that nobody else can do. And while KD did some of that, he just didn't do it at the rate he needed to.

The NBA is by far the most well documented rigged professional league in North America. Everyone remember all the referees being caught in the mid 2000s for bribes and rigged officiating? So, your tinfoil hats may not be tight enough if you ask me.

Anyway, wanted to throw this in here. According to ESPN (who I despise for a variety of reasons- but enough about me), their formulas rank KD as the 6th most popular athlete in the world right now, behind LBJ:

http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/15685581/espn-world-fame-100

Westy is at 48. These two are the image of OKC to the world.
And another, game 7 was the MOST WATCHED NBA game and PROGRAM EVER on TNT:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2643407-thunder-vs-warriors-game-7-was-nbas-highest-rated-game-ever-on-cable-tv

Something something 9/11 patriots won #fixisin